Today's ride was a little more than just Elmore Back but most of the rest of the loop we have seen
before but the other way round. Not that I have cycled it backwards you understand, that would be foolish; I mean previously I took an anti-clockwise route, this time, clockwise. However, today, being a bright, sunny, warm day and I haven't been out for a couple of weeks, I thought it would be nice to have a relatively un-hilly bimble by the river and, surprisingly, didn't stop at any churches. You can see the route
here.
I left home and rode along Cole Avenue towards Quedgeley and crossed the canal at Rea bridge. Turning left, the road is a gentle, near flat, well surfaced road. If you look at the elevation, it is quite misleading and looks like a stonking great hill. The difference is actually only about 20 metres but this is as high as we go. Riding conditions here are absolutely perfect, blue sky, warm but not scorching hot and just a hint of breeze so a reasonable pace is quite easy to keep. This road leads to Longney and we pass the parish church of St Laurence. Continuing on our clockwise route, the breeze is now gently blowing from the right. 4Km later and we meet the first turn off at a couple of houses known as Farley's End (honest) towards the river and the first dead end. This road leads to Elmore Back. The 'Back' isn't derived from 'Back of beyond' as you might expect but from ye olde English word 'Bec' meaning ferry. It seems that for several hundred years there was a pub here called the Salmon Inn from which you could get a ferry across the river to Minsterworth. It is the church at Minsterworth that you can see in this picture. The ferry stopped in May 1941, I believe. The route to the old ferry terminal (I presume) is now accessed along a stretch of footpath which I walked along but provides a bit of a pet hate of mine. Apart from riding, I also enjoy walking and use these marked public footpaths and I am mildly irritated by the obstacles that farmers introduce. In this case, there are a couple of stiles to cross (which I hoiked my bike over), the farmer whose land these footpaths runs alongside has run electric fencing and/or barbed wire around the perimiter fence and right up to the gates and stiles that provide public access. Not preventing access but it would take just a wee slip and you'll be a bit uncomfortable.
The only way to go now is to retrace my path back to Farley's End and a left hander through Elmore before reaching my second and final dead end road leading out to the river. Signed as Weir Green, this is little more than a farm track that again leads to the river which the Severn Way waymarked path follows. Although there appears nothing of any great note here, it is a very pretty place and you could just sit by the river and soak up the sun. A pub would go down well here so long as not too many people were allowed as it would ruin the peace.
Returning to the main road leads back to the road back over Rea bridge but I turn right back to where we started the loop in order to cross the canal at Sellars Bridge where the bridge is open to allow a narrow boat through. From here, it is a quick run through Hardwicke and Quedgeley back home.
Total distance - 38 KM
Weather - about 23C, Dry and sunny, wind from NE, about 10 KM/h
The only way to go now is to retrace my path back to Farley's End and a left hander through Elmore before reaching my second and final dead end road leading out to the river. Signed as Weir Green, this is little more than a farm track that again leads to the river which the Severn Way waymarked path follows. Although there appears nothing of any great note here, it is a very pretty place and you could just sit by the river and soak up the sun. A pub would go down well here so long as not too many people were allowed as it would ruin the peace.
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